Empathy Day on June 8th is organised by Empathy Lab, a not-for-profit organisation, and a : 'powerful book-based empathy movement” seeking to "inspire children and young people to learn more about empathy, have transformational experiences through stories and put empathy into action!”

We are supporting Empathy Day by focusing on novels for adults where empathy can be felt on many levels. I’ve chosen a wide range of novels here. It could be that the book is full of feel-good emotions and empathy soaks through the very pages into your thoughts. It may be that heartbreak or distressing subjects can be found, but that the author deals with them in the most compassionate way possible. Or it could even be that the book is written in such a way as to evoke empathy and compassion in you as a reader. So from reading the synopsis of a few of these novels, it’s not necessarily immediately obvious as to why they are included on the list, but by immersing yourself in the story you can feel that the author cares, really cares about their subject matter. And so you’ll find thrillers, crime, family drama, and historical fiction, as well as romance, humour, and uplifting novels. Empathy, the most beautiful of responses, can be found in all of these books, even if it sometimes lies hidden, waiting to be discovered.